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The Great Netherlands Horse Rescue

The biggest horse story that came out of The Netherlands in 2006 was the amazing tale of the Great Netherlands Horse Rescue. A group of about 100 horses were stranded on a small piece of land when the waters rose unexpectedly after a fierce storm. The horses were stranded for three days on a tiny sliver of land. Firemen and animal welfare officers brought the horses food and water to keep up their strength. As wind and icy rain blasted the horses, they huddled together with their rear ends facing the wind. Finally on the third day, the great rescue was made.
The video of the horse rescue is incredibly moving. The combination of the horse footage and music will bring happy tears to any horse lover’s eyes.

The Great Netherlands Horse Rescue
By Chris, Five Star Ranch Staff Writer

This second video has some of the same shots, but includes more of the rest of the crew who made this rescue possible. It also shows five men hand leading the last horse across. This horse didn’t want to leave the isle and was so weak he barely made it across. A vet and several attendants were waiting for him when he made dry land.

This is an excerpt from the complete story, as published by USA Today.

MARRUM, Netherlands (AP) — Rescuers on horseback lured a herd of about 100 horses off a mud-soaked knoll where they had been stranded for three days and led them through receding flood waters to safe ground Friday.

Nineteen horses had drowned or died of exposure from the days and nights on the patch of earth that was turned into an island during a storm Tuesday night.

The plight of the horses has gripped the country after the storm surge pushed sea water into the wilderness area outside the dikes of Marrum, a town 90 miles northeast of Amsterdam.

Four women on horseback guided the animals about 650 yards to higher ground, and the entire herd — except one horse — followed them back without hesitation.